I'm far from an expert, but I think Salazar deserves the award- he coached Rupp to a dominant NCAA streak, Amy Yoder-Begley to a national 10k title, Kara to 3rd at Boston, and, of course, Ritz's WC 10k performance, 5000m AR, and bronze at the World Half. I don't think any other coach has been quite so successful over the same period of time.
However, Salazar is no fool- he recognizes that short term accomplishments are nothing compared to sustained, long-term achievement, and so he quite rightly makes sure to pay homage to the other fantastic, hard-working coaches we Americans are fortunate to have working with our elite athletes.
As for the Nike thing, Nike presumably sponsors the award. If Visa sponsored the award, then Salazar would be the Visa Coach of the Year.
On a somewhat related note, who won this award in 2008? I would think it would have to be John Cook.